In this week’s news: Comfort foods are found to be not so soothing; diet soda gets a gut check; and addiction programs quit with the sweets.

Cold Comfort for Comfort Food Fans
What’s your go-to food when you’re feeling down? Carbs? Ice cream? You might as well reach for the carrot sticks and celery — or not snack at all. A new study has found that scarfing down comfort foods doesn’t actually boost mood more than eating healthier foods — or no food — does. Bad moods go away, the researchers determined, whether we eat that big pile of cookies or not. “We found no justification for people to choose comfort foods when they are distressed,” the researchers concluded, adding that they hoped their findings would lead people to skip the high-cal indulgences and “focus on other, food-free methods of improving their mood.” Read more

In this week’s news: Cravings could be a gut thing (if not a good thing); the outdated BMI system gets a checkup; and the “all-natural” label is, well, kinda fake.

It’s Not You, It’s Your Microbiome
Don’t blame yourself if you can’t resist that cupcake. Blame your gut bacteria. A new study, published in the journal BioEssays, has found that the bacteria living within us, which are 100 times more numerous than our own cells, may affect the foods we crave as well as our moods. The tiny bacterial overlords, the theory goes, compel us to eat the foods they live best on — perhaps fat or sugar — overriding our healthy eating efforts and propelling us toward obesity. “Bacteria within the gut are manipulative,” says study co-author Carlo Maley, PhD. “There is a diversity of interests represented in the microbiome, some aligned with our own dietary goals, and others not.” Read more